Hong Kong fund invests to usher medical innovations into mainland China hospitals
By Leopold Chen
The Hong Kong government’s HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) investment fund is teaming up with a medical group co-founded by the city’s former finance minister to bring innovations developed by start-ups into clinical use across the Greater Bay Area.
Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) said on Wednesday that it would fund New Frontier Group as it works to identify biotech start-ups with great potential and help promote the clinical application of their products. The partnership is HKIC’s first this year.
“We have invested in various biotechnological projects in the past year, and we are seeking routes to apply such innovations to reach patients, to cover the last mile,” said Carla Chan Ka-chai, CEO of HKIC. “The facilities and services of [New Frontier Group] have provided scenarios for application of such innovation.”
Co-founded and chaired by former financial secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung, New Frontier has a presence in 59 Chinese cities, including Hong Kong. In 2019, the group acquired United Family Healthcare, one of the largest private hospital chains by revenue in mainland China.
Leung said the firm would promote commercialisation of Hong Kong medical innovations in the bay area, while also helping mainland biomedical breakthroughs enter the international market through Hong Kong. The Greater Bay Area is the Chinese government’s scheme to link Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing into an integrated economic and business hub.
“What we are hoping to do is create an end-to-end ecosystem from research labs to clinics,” said Carl Wu, co-founder and CEO of New Frontier.
Under the partnership, New Frontier will provide contract research services, including seeking clinical trial scenarios for product verification and assisting with licensing and registration.
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By Leopold Chen
The Hong Kong government’s HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) investment fund is teaming up with a medical group co-founded by the city’s former finance minister to bring innovations developed by start-ups into clinical use across the Greater Bay Area.
Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) said on Wednesday that it would fund New Frontier Group as it works to identify biotech start-ups with great potential and help promote the clinical application of their products. The partnership is HKIC’s first this year.
“We have invested in various biotechnological projects in the past year, and we are seeking routes to apply such innovations to reach patients, to cover the last mile,” said Carla Chan Ka-chai, CEO of HKIC. “The facilities and services of [New Frontier Group] have provided scenarios for application of such innovation.”
Co-founded and chaired by former financial secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung, New Frontier has a presence in 59 Chinese cities, including Hong Kong. In 2019, the group acquired United Family Healthcare, one of the largest private hospital chains by revenue in mainland China.
Leung said the firm would promote commercialisation of Hong Kong medical innovations in the bay area, while also helping mainland biomedical breakthroughs enter the international market through Hong Kong. The Greater Bay Area is the Chinese government’s scheme to link Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing into an integrated economic and business hub.
“What we are hoping to do is create an end-to-end ecosystem from research labs to clinics,” said Carl Wu, co-founder and CEO of New Frontier.
Under the partnership, New Frontier will provide contract research services, including seeking clinical trial scenarios for product verification and assisting with licensing and registration.
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Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport targeted by exotic animal traffickers: watchdog
By Hadi Azmi
Malaysia’s main airport in Kuala Lumpur has resurfaced as a major transit hub used by global traffickers of exotic animals in the growing illegal trade, according to a wildlife trade watchdog.
The assessment comes after two smuggling attempts were foiled last week at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where Indian customs officers intercepted five critically endangered baby siamang gibbons that were flown in via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
The seizures highlighted the KLIA’s emergence as a key stop for wildlife smuggling, with traffickers using it to move a diverse array of species, from Malaysian primates like the endangered siamang to rare tortoises and iguanas, said Kanitha Krishnasamy, Southeast Asia director of the UK-based wildlife trade watchdog Traffic.
While the trade of exotic animals between Southeast Asia and South Asia was not new, there had been a shift toward selling live species, Krishnasamy said.
“ What’s become more prominent in recent years is the influx of live exotic animals into India where there seems to be a growing fad of acquiring exotic species for the pet trade,” Krishnasamy told This Week in Asia on Wednesday.
“This is a fairly new evolution of the market in the past couple of years, which needs to be scrutinised.”
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By Hadi Azmi
Malaysia’s main airport in Kuala Lumpur has resurfaced as a major transit hub used by global traffickers of exotic animals in the growing illegal trade, according to a wildlife trade watchdog.
The assessment comes after two smuggling attempts were foiled last week at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where Indian customs officers intercepted five critically endangered baby siamang gibbons that were flown in via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
The seizures highlighted the KLIA’s emergence as a key stop for wildlife smuggling, with traffickers using it to move a diverse array of species, from Malaysian primates like the endangered siamang to rare tortoises and iguanas, said Kanitha Krishnasamy, Southeast Asia director of the UK-based wildlife trade watchdog Traffic.
While the trade of exotic animals between Southeast Asia and South Asia was not new, there had been a shift toward selling live species, Krishnasamy said.
“ What’s become more prominent in recent years is the influx of live exotic animals into India where there seems to be a growing fad of acquiring exotic species for the pet trade,” Krishnasamy told This Week in Asia on Wednesday.
“This is a fairly new evolution of the market in the past couple of years, which needs to be scrutinised.”
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Hong Kong teen makes fatal leap after reporting death of stabbed relatives
By William Yiu
A 19-year-old Hong Kong man has leapt fatally from a building shortly after reporting the death of his grandfather and father, who were found in their village home with stab wounds inflicted by sharp objects.
Police on Wednesday said they had classified the two cases as murder and suicide and were looking into the causes.
According to Johnathan Kwan Chun-him, assistant district commander (crime) of Yuen Long district, police received a call from a 19-year-old man regarding the death of his grandfather and father in a ground-floor flat in Chun Hing San Tsuen, off Wang Tat Road, at 8.10pm on Tuesday.
Five minutes later, the force received a suspected suicide report, later confirmed to be the teen.
Upon arrival at the village house, officers found multiple wounds and heavy bleeding on the bodies of the 93-year-old grandfather and his 69-year-old son. A forensic examination showed the two elderly men had been stabbed by sharp objects.
“Our initial findings found out there were multiple wounds on the 93-year-old man’s face and neck, and heavy bleeding over his body,” Kwan said.
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By William Yiu
A 19-year-old Hong Kong man has leapt fatally from a building shortly after reporting the death of his grandfather and father, who were found in their village home with stab wounds inflicted by sharp objects.
Police on Wednesday said they had classified the two cases as murder and suicide and were looking into the causes.
According to Johnathan Kwan Chun-him, assistant district commander (crime) of Yuen Long district, police received a call from a 19-year-old man regarding the death of his grandfather and father in a ground-floor flat in Chun Hing San Tsuen, off Wang Tat Road, at 8.10pm on Tuesday.
Five minutes later, the force received a suspected suicide report, later confirmed to be the teen.
Upon arrival at the village house, officers found multiple wounds and heavy bleeding on the bodies of the 93-year-old grandfather and his 69-year-old son. A forensic examination showed the two elderly men had been stabbed by sharp objects.
“Our initial findings found out there were multiple wounds on the 93-year-old man’s face and neck, and heavy bleeding over his body,” Kwan said.
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US Treasury Secretary Bessent to visit Kyiv as Trump seeks Ukraine’s rare earths
By Agencies
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was set to travel to Ukraine this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of US efforts to resolve the war and secure access to critical minerals.
Bessent, who would be the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the country was set to make the trip to Kyiv days after the US president said his administration wanted an agreement with Ukraine for access to the resources in return for aiding in its defence against Russia’s invasion.
“I am sending Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. “This War MUST and WILL END SOON – Too much Death and Destruction. The US has spent BILLIONS of Dollars Globally, with little to show.”
Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv earlier Monday that he planned to meet with “serious people” from the Trump administration in Ukraine before the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday.
Zelensky has suggested willingness to an agreement securing more US backing in exchange for some of Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals. “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” he told Reuters in an interview published last Friday.
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By Agencies
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was set to travel to Ukraine this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of US efforts to resolve the war and secure access to critical minerals.
Bessent, who would be the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the country was set to make the trip to Kyiv days after the US president said his administration wanted an agreement with Ukraine for access to the resources in return for aiding in its defence against Russia’s invasion.
“I am sending Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. “This War MUST and WILL END SOON – Too much Death and Destruction. The US has spent BILLIONS of Dollars Globally, with little to show.”
Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv earlier Monday that he planned to meet with “serious people” from the Trump administration in Ukraine before the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday.
Zelensky has suggested willingness to an agreement securing more US backing in exchange for some of Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals. “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” he told Reuters in an interview published last Friday.
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‘Complex situation’ in Myanmar poses biggest hurdle to helping trapped Hongkongers
By Lo Hoi-ying
Myanmar’s “complex situation” around its border poses the biggest challenge to Hong Kong authorities’ efforts to rescue residents tricked into working in scam farms in the country, a security official has said.
Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip also said on Wednesday that between 2023 and January this year, law enforcement authorities received 28 calls for help from Hong Kong residents trapped in Southeast Asia.
Among that figure, 19 had returned to Hong Kong, eight remained trapped in Myanmar and another was in Cambodia.
“In our previous cases, since the victims were trapped in Myanmar and Cambodia, we requested assistance from the local enforcement agencies through Interpol as well as the Chinese embassies in those countries,” he told a Legislative Council meeting.
“We did not contact Thailand at that time as the victims were not located there. But as the situation developed, we reached out to Thai authorities and received a positive response from them; therefore, we are currently working with Thailand in this regard.”
In response to a question from lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan, Cheuk said Myanmar’s “complex situation” posed the biggest challenge to efforts to rescue the remaining Hongkongers.
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By Lo Hoi-ying
Myanmar’s “complex situation” around its border poses the biggest challenge to Hong Kong authorities’ efforts to rescue residents tricked into working in scam farms in the country, a security official has said.
Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip also said on Wednesday that between 2023 and January this year, law enforcement authorities received 28 calls for help from Hong Kong residents trapped in Southeast Asia.
Among that figure, 19 had returned to Hong Kong, eight remained trapped in Myanmar and another was in Cambodia.
“In our previous cases, since the victims were trapped in Myanmar and Cambodia, we requested assistance from the local enforcement agencies through Interpol as well as the Chinese embassies in those countries,” he told a Legislative Council meeting.
“We did not contact Thailand at that time as the victims were not located there. But as the situation developed, we reached out to Thai authorities and received a positive response from them; therefore, we are currently working with Thailand in this regard.”
In response to a question from lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan, Cheuk said Myanmar’s “complex situation” posed the biggest challenge to efforts to rescue the remaining Hongkongers.
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Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines sacks team behind cancellation of over 100 flights
By Wynna Wong
A new team that failed to heed protocol and made poor decisions, as well as external factors, are to blame for the cancellation of over 100 Greater Bay Airlines flights in Hong Kong, according to a report by the carrier, which has also said the staff responsible have been fired.
In its report to the Civil Aviation Department publicised on Wednesday, the airline acknowledged concerns had been raised over its decision last month to cancel 128 flights throughout February and March, affecting 5,500 passengers travelling to and from Thailand, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
“[The airline] implemented a revised corporate structure in non-operational areas in late 2024, which included investing in employing extra new commercial and planning management personnel,” the report said, adding the staff had experience at other airlines but were unfamiliar with their new role.
But the report said the team failed to heed the airline’s “required protocol for cancellation decision making, took excessive time to make decisions, communicated the decision poorly, and did not consider the [company’s] customer service response capability”.
The report said the team had since been “removed from the company”, and that “stringent, weekly management reviews” would be conducted from now on.
The airline also said high-level authorisation would be required for any future cancellations.
“The effects of these cancellations have been the greatest challenges in [Greater Bay Airline’s] development since the inception of the company,” the report added.
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By Wynna Wong
A new team that failed to heed protocol and made poor decisions, as well as external factors, are to blame for the cancellation of over 100 Greater Bay Airlines flights in Hong Kong, according to a report by the carrier, which has also said the staff responsible have been fired.
In its report to the Civil Aviation Department publicised on Wednesday, the airline acknowledged concerns had been raised over its decision last month to cancel 128 flights throughout February and March, affecting 5,500 passengers travelling to and from Thailand, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
“[The airline] implemented a revised corporate structure in non-operational areas in late 2024, which included investing in employing extra new commercial and planning management personnel,” the report said, adding the staff had experience at other airlines but were unfamiliar with their new role.
But the report said the team failed to heed the airline’s “required protocol for cancellation decision making, took excessive time to make decisions, communicated the decision poorly, and did not consider the [company’s] customer service response capability”.
The report said the team had since been “removed from the company”, and that “stringent, weekly management reviews” would be conducted from now on.
The airline also said high-level authorisation would be required for any future cancellations.
“The effects of these cancellations have been the greatest challenges in [Greater Bay Airline’s] development since the inception of the company,” the report added.
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China’s property market still needs more support, Goldman Sachs says
By Yuke Xie
China’s policy easing since September has been “more effective” than past interventions to stabilise the struggling property market, but “structural divergences” mean additional support measures are needed for a sustained recovery, according to Goldman Sachs.
“Compared to earlier episodes, the ongoing policy easing appears more effective in boosting home sales and stabilising prices, despite limited impact on property investment and other construction-related property activity,” the US investment bank said in a report on Tuesday.
Price corrections over the three-plus years of the property downturn – during which second-hand home prices have declined by around 25 per cent from their peaks – were a key factor behind the “strengthened effectiveness” of recent policy measures, Goldman analysts said.
The policy blitz since September “enhanced the transmission efficiency” of housing easing measures at the margin, while also unlocking pent-up demand from buyers who had previously adopted a wait-and-see attitude, they added.
The sector’s crisis began in late 2020 when authorities launched a campaign to deleverage developers and deflate a housing bubble. Total new residential sales have declined by around 50 per cent from their peak in 2021. In response, Beijing in September rolled out its most aggressive stimulus package since the Covid-19 pandemic, including lower down payment ratios, reductions in mortgage rates and a plan to let local governments use special bonds to absorb land and housing inventory.
Goldman cited a 75 per cent drop in new project starts amid private developers’ funding challenges, as well as second-hand home sales outperforming new home sales, as factors that reflect structural issues. Sales of lived-in homes currently account for 44 per cent of the national total after recovering from 19 per cent in 2021. Meanwhile, buyers remain wary of new homes out of fear that developers may not be able to deliver pre-sold projects.
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By Yuke Xie
China’s policy easing since September has been “more effective” than past interventions to stabilise the struggling property market, but “structural divergences” mean additional support measures are needed for a sustained recovery, according to Goldman Sachs.
“Compared to earlier episodes, the ongoing policy easing appears more effective in boosting home sales and stabilising prices, despite limited impact on property investment and other construction-related property activity,” the US investment bank said in a report on Tuesday.
Price corrections over the three-plus years of the property downturn – during which second-hand home prices have declined by around 25 per cent from their peaks – were a key factor behind the “strengthened effectiveness” of recent policy measures, Goldman analysts said.
The policy blitz since September “enhanced the transmission efficiency” of housing easing measures at the margin, while also unlocking pent-up demand from buyers who had previously adopted a wait-and-see attitude, they added.
The sector’s crisis began in late 2020 when authorities launched a campaign to deleverage developers and deflate a housing bubble. Total new residential sales have declined by around 50 per cent from their peak in 2021. In response, Beijing in September rolled out its most aggressive stimulus package since the Covid-19 pandemic, including lower down payment ratios, reductions in mortgage rates and a plan to let local governments use special bonds to absorb land and housing inventory.
Goldman cited a 75 per cent drop in new project starts amid private developers’ funding challenges, as well as second-hand home sales outperforming new home sales, as factors that reflect structural issues. Sales of lived-in homes currently account for 44 per cent of the national total after recovering from 19 per cent in 2021. Meanwhile, buyers remain wary of new homes out of fear that developers may not be able to deliver pre-sold projects.
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Chinese GPUs outdo Nvidia chips nearly tenfold in supercomputer simulation: study
By Zhang Tong
Computer researchers in China using domestically made graphics processors have achieved a near-tenfold boost in performance over powerful US supercomputers that rely on Nvidia’s cutting-edge hardware, according to a peer-reviewed study.
The accomplishment points to possible unintended consequences of Washington’s escalating tech sanctions while challenging the dominance of American-made chips, long considered vital for advanced scientific research.
The researchers said that innovative software optimisation techniques enabled them to improve efficiency gains in computers powered by Chinese-designed graphics processing units (GPUs) to outperform US supercomputers in certain scientific computations.
While sceptics caution that software tweaks alone cannot bridge hardware gaps indefinitely, the development underscores Beijing’s broader strategy to mitigate “chokepoint” risks in critical technologies.
Scientists often rely on simulations to model real-world circumstances, such as designs to defend against flooding or urban waterlogging. But such reproductions, especially large-scale, high-resolution simulations, demand substantial time and computational resources, limiting the broader application of such an approach.
The challenge for Chinese scientists is even more daunting. For hardware, production of advanced GPUs like the A100 and H100 are dominated by foreign manufacturers. On the software side, US-based Nvidia has restricted its CUDA software ecosystem from running on third-party hardware, thus hindering the development of independent algorithms.
In search of a breakthrough, Professor Nan Tongchao with the State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering at Hohai University in Nanjing, began exploring a “multi-node, multi-GPU” parallel computing approach based on domestic CPUs and GPUs. The results of their research were published in the Chinese Journal of Hydraulic Engineering on January 3.
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By Zhang Tong
Computer researchers in China using domestically made graphics processors have achieved a near-tenfold boost in performance over powerful US supercomputers that rely on Nvidia’s cutting-edge hardware, according to a peer-reviewed study.
The accomplishment points to possible unintended consequences of Washington’s escalating tech sanctions while challenging the dominance of American-made chips, long considered vital for advanced scientific research.
The researchers said that innovative software optimisation techniques enabled them to improve efficiency gains in computers powered by Chinese-designed graphics processing units (GPUs) to outperform US supercomputers in certain scientific computations.
While sceptics caution that software tweaks alone cannot bridge hardware gaps indefinitely, the development underscores Beijing’s broader strategy to mitigate “chokepoint” risks in critical technologies.
Scientists often rely on simulations to model real-world circumstances, such as designs to defend against flooding or urban waterlogging. But such reproductions, especially large-scale, high-resolution simulations, demand substantial time and computational resources, limiting the broader application of such an approach.
The challenge for Chinese scientists is even more daunting. For hardware, production of advanced GPUs like the A100 and H100 are dominated by foreign manufacturers. On the software side, US-based Nvidia has restricted its CUDA software ecosystem from running on third-party hardware, thus hindering the development of independent algorithms.
In search of a breakthrough, Professor Nan Tongchao with the State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering at Hohai University in Nanjing, began exploring a “multi-node, multi-GPU” parallel computing approach based on domestic CPUs and GPUs. The results of their research were published in the Chinese Journal of Hydraulic Engineering on January 3.
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Trump has fired his first tariff salvo at China. Are Japan and South Korea next?
By Ralph Jennings
Tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea may be next on the agenda for US President Donald Trump as he looks to punish other nations with trade surpluses following a hike in Chinese duties, analysts said – though higher US tariffs on those countries could strengthen intra-Asian trade and help Chinese exporters.
Trump would raise tariffs on the two East Asian countries to promote production in the United States and pressure both to increase their US investments, the observers said.
Speculation over such a move has gathered steam after Trump announced a universal 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium imports.
“The trade war is only just beginning, and Northeast Asia’s developed economies may soon find themselves caught in the crossfire,” Moody’s Analytics said in a report on February 5.
British multinational bank Barclays said in a Monday research note that South Korea in particular imposes “much higher tariffs on US exports in their direction than the US does on imports from them,” which would make Seoul a high-value target for Trump.
“Trump had made similar comments on the campaign trail during his run for a second term as US president,” Barclays said, adding the US may announce “reciprocal tariffs” as early as this week.
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By Ralph Jennings
Tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea may be next on the agenda for US President Donald Trump as he looks to punish other nations with trade surpluses following a hike in Chinese duties, analysts said – though higher US tariffs on those countries could strengthen intra-Asian trade and help Chinese exporters.
Trump would raise tariffs on the two East Asian countries to promote production in the United States and pressure both to increase their US investments, the observers said.
Speculation over such a move has gathered steam after Trump announced a universal 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium imports.
“The trade war is only just beginning, and Northeast Asia’s developed economies may soon find themselves caught in the crossfire,” Moody’s Analytics said in a report on February 5.
British multinational bank Barclays said in a Monday research note that South Korea in particular imposes “much higher tariffs on US exports in their direction than the US does on imports from them,” which would make Seoul a high-value target for Trump.
“Trump had made similar comments on the campaign trail during his run for a second term as US president,” Barclays said, adding the US may announce “reciprocal tariffs” as early as this week.
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Hong Kong uses DNA to probe death of doctor in suspected E coli cluster
By Wynna Wong
Hong Kong authorities are using advanced genome sequencing to see whether separate infections or underlying factors contributed to the death of a young oncologist after a suspected outbreak of a highly toxic E coli strain at a hospital where two other doctors have also presented symptoms.
One of the experts involved in the investigation said on Wednesday that authorities had not ruled out any possibilities about the cases in the oncology department at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung.
An oncologist in his thirties died on Friday last week, less than 24 hours after being admitted to hospital.
The doctor showed signs of severe infection, low blood oxygen levels and high fever, which required him to be intubated and transferred to the intensive care unit.
Authorities have indicated the cluster may be an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E coli, although testing has been inconclusive.
“We are not ruling out any possibilities,” Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, chair of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong’s department of microbiology, said on a radio show.
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By Wynna Wong
Hong Kong authorities are using advanced genome sequencing to see whether separate infections or underlying factors contributed to the death of a young oncologist after a suspected outbreak of a highly toxic E coli strain at a hospital where two other doctors have also presented symptoms.
One of the experts involved in the investigation said on Wednesday that authorities had not ruled out any possibilities about the cases in the oncology department at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung.
An oncologist in his thirties died on Friday last week, less than 24 hours after being admitted to hospital.
The doctor showed signs of severe infection, low blood oxygen levels and high fever, which required him to be intubated and transferred to the intensive care unit.
Authorities have indicated the cluster may be an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E coli, although testing has been inconclusive.
“We are not ruling out any possibilities,” Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, chair of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong’s department of microbiology, said on a radio show.
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PLA tracks US Navy ships in first Taiwan Strait transit since Trump’s return
By Hayley Wong
Two American naval vessels were spotted sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Monday, according to the People’s Liberation Army, which also said that it was tracking the crossing.
The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command “organised sea and air forces to follow and monitor the entire movement of the US vessels, and handled them effectively”, according to spokesman Li Xi.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Li accused the US deployment of sending “wrong signals and increasing security risks”.
The transit was the first by the US Navy since Donald Trump was sworn in as president in January. In a departure from its usual practice, the passage was not flagged by the Indo-Pacific Command on its website.
According to Reuters, the navy confirmed on Tuesday that two ships – an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer the USS Ralph Johnson and the USNS Bowditch, a survey ship – had crossed the strait between Monday and Wednesday.
The Indo-Pacific Command told Reuters that the operation was routine and has not yet responded to an inquiry from the South China Morning Post.
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By Hayley Wong
Two American naval vessels were spotted sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Monday, according to the People’s Liberation Army, which also said that it was tracking the crossing.
The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command “organised sea and air forces to follow and monitor the entire movement of the US vessels, and handled them effectively”, according to spokesman Li Xi.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Li accused the US deployment of sending “wrong signals and increasing security risks”.
The transit was the first by the US Navy since Donald Trump was sworn in as president in January. In a departure from its usual practice, the passage was not flagged by the Indo-Pacific Command on its website.
According to Reuters, the navy confirmed on Tuesday that two ships – an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer the USS Ralph Johnson and the USNS Bowditch, a survey ship – had crossed the strait between Monday and Wednesday.
The Indo-Pacific Command told Reuters that the operation was routine and has not yet responded to an inquiry from the South China Morning Post.
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